@FinalPreator: While I agree with your sentiments, I can buy that the game, despite its very modern, timely premise, was probably created without any particular political slant in mind. But by it very existing as a work of art--and video games are works of art--it is political. So The Division, whether intended to be political or not, necessarily has material embedded within it with which people can creatively exchange.
I'm not sure where the knee-jerk, reactionary aversion to meaningful games entirely comes from. I guess people are afraid that their treasured hobby is being infringed upon. Sure, some efforts are superficial--a transgender character here, a notably loud defense of progressive themes there--but we're way past Pong at this point, and we're better for it. Games are still going to entertain, regardless.
I've thought in the past that a sequel could go out episodically at first. That's the design of the original game, basically, and Remedy experimented with digital-only releases when they brought out American Nightmare. You could get a physical edition after the initial release. I don't know if this would allow for a more financially feasible production or actually hold it back, though.
In any case, I'm all in on a sequel. And let's get that all-inclusive remaster with both DLC episodes and American Nightmare. ; )
@EXxile: For me, Twilight Princess--and most, if not all, of the sequels that have followed it--just lacks soul. It's Zelda-by-committee. It has all the criteria of a Zelda game, on paper, but it lacks the creativity of Wind Waker and Majora's Mask.
Nonetheless, it's a pretty good game, technically. I played on Gamecube and enjoyed it. It's far meatier than the other 3-D installments, so there's that. And while there are some tedious sections, it never devolves to mind-numbing lows that Skyward Sword reaches. : P
Love these discussions, guys. Great job. As far as the topic, I'm interested in both games, largely for the same reasons mentioned in the discussion. I share Peter's admiration for the feel and aesthetic of The Division, and I can relate to Mike's want for a solid, tactical, third-person shooter with a strong single-player element. I also really liked Ghost Recon, and if Wildlands can offer more developed squad-based missions with good level design, that sounds excellent. That being said, it is open-world, and the levels aren't always great. Phantom Pain wore on me after a while, even though, moment to moment, it was fun. Just got very repetitive. Hopefully the locales in Wildlands are more expansive, detailed, and interesting.
@Cillerboy: It's a little concerning for the next Dragon Age game. I'm not sure to what extent Gaider has been involved with Mass Effect, but I know he had some massive creative input in all the Dragon Age titles. I suspect he and the other writers had put together a plan while they were conceptualizing Inquisition, though.
@cammy_time: That is more in-line with the original two BioShock games, too, and it's why I vastly preferred the Burial at Sea DLC. Infinite is a competent shooter with some fun abilities, but I never felt like there was much in the way of real strategy involved.
I'm always willing to check out Ninja Theory's stuff. They're ambitious, and even if they don't have the chops (yet) to quite pull off their visions, the visions are still worth something.
Martin has nothing to apologize about. I don't envy him writing those behemoth novels; writing is already difficult enough, and to juggle hundreds of pages, if not thousands, all filled with multitudes of characters and plots? It's a massive challenge.
If people are going to continue complaining about the show outpacing the books, then, frankly, they can just not watch. Game of Thrones has been an enormous hit and been a positive change for so many people. And it's a really good show, on top of that.
@Hurvl: I would agree it gets worse after the fourth book. King started hammering the books out after his accident, and some of the creative decisions later are questionable, at least for me. The Gunslinger is my favorite one, though, and it's the most self-contained. Elba being Roland would be interesting. I'm open to it, even if it is unconventional.
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